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ISRAELI SNIPERS TARGET CIVILIANS
AND MEDICAL PEOPLE
"Horrible days indeed.... I did not write any column...because
in such days all I can produce are shouts and frustration
--
murderers! keeps repeating in my mind....
I will nevertheless
try to send you later today some more coherent words."
MER - Washington - 10/1/00: This anguished comment just received
from an Israeli Professor associated with MER. And the following updates
just received from The Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees,
three of whose workers have today been targeted by Israeli snipers.
Also remember that many persons who are not severely injured do not go
to hospitals for fear the Israelis may find them and subsequently interrogate
them, and thus are not recorded in the statistics.
THREE AID WORKERS SHOT BY ISRAELI SNIPERS
October 1, 2000, 4:30 PM: Three UPMRC First Aid Workers have been
shot
by Israeli snipers using high-velocity ammunition. Suheila Abdel-Rahman,
a
UPMRC health worker, and two volunteers, Bashir Bargouthi and Ashraf
Bisht
were assisting the injured at the junction near the City Inn Hotel
in Ramallah.
All three wore vests clearly identifying them as medical personnel.
ISRAELI FORCES STILL FIRING AT CIVILIANS
October 1, 2000, 4:00 PM: The Israeli army and police continue
using
deadly force against Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank,
Gaza
Strip, and East Jerusalem for the fourth day in a row. Palestinian
deaths
and injuries continue to mount as Israeli forces fire live high-velocity
ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, and tear gas indiscriminately
into
crowds of protesters.
The number of casualties are alarming:
* At least 25 Palestinians are
dead.
* Over 750 are injured.
* Fourteen remain in critical condition.
Attacks on civilians have been especially brutal in the Gaza Strip,
where
12-year old Rami Al-Dura was killed while under Israeli attack. Television
cameras recorded the boy and his father, Jamal Al-Dura, trying to shield
themselves from the hail of bullets. The father sustained critical
injuries
while trying to protect his son, but the army kept shooting until Rami
was
fatally wounded. Doctors are currently trying to remove a bullet from
Jamal’s spine to prevent paralysis. Ambulance driver Ghassan Al-Balbisi,
was
shot to death by the same group of snipers while trying to reach the
boy and
his father.
These events are a clear indication of the force the Israeli army is
employing in their continued attacks against unarmed Palestinian civilians.
Reports of an Israeli “cease-fire” are false. This afternoon, the army
has
been using tanks, helicopters and anti-tank missiles against Palestinian
men, women, and children.
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